Ego and the Denial of Complexity

The comments that he made strongly resonate with my own ideas so I feel
inspired to share some of those resonances in the hope that it may add something
to this discussion. I'll extemporise on his comments and quote them extensively,
weaving my own ideas around them...

" "The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity". -Jacob Burkhardt
What a great quote! "

It is a great quote. I've included that quote right at the start of my latest
e-book on the subject - thanks for bringing it to my attention. It sums up the
essence of the issue in 9 words but to explain the implications of those 9 words
takes a few more words.

It revolves around "the basic idea of being able to study and describe
different periods as a whole" because the system that we are a part of
functions as a 'whole' even though the "simple mind" only perceives it as
separate parts. That is why I apply system theory to conceive of the functioning
of the whole and some very startling ramifications come from such an analysis -
which he also hints at in his article.

"Life is complex, biologically, socially, culturally. The most awesome
stuff that exists is complex. The universe, evolution, eco-systems, art,
adventure, human culture in general, and the human mind."

People too often neglect this most important fact and our traditional
discourses simply cannot comprehend that complexity. They create a simplistic
context that gives rise to simplistic agendas and simplistic rationalisations.
They speak of left-wing, right-wing, politics, economy, human rights, society
and so on. These simplistic discourses lead us to believe that these are simple
phenomena that are fully defined by the simplistic ideas associated with those
words and that the reality can be comprehended and engineered by merely
manipulating those simplistic ideas. We too often don't recognise that these
ideas are just symbols that refer to cultural interpretations of minute aspects
of a much deeper and more complex 'whole'. When we think only through the narrow
channels of traditional discourses and we act from that narrow thinking. We may
seem rational in the narrow context of those discourses but those discourses
cannot comprehend the reality so in reality we are in fact being dangerously
irrational and our actions are destructively out of alignment with reality.

The "human mind is at a crucial point in its evolution. We can consciously
think abstractly. But not very well. The part of our mind we're conscious of,
and that we usually identify with as "me", typically has an extremely inflated
idea of its own worth and its own independent existence. That despite that it
can only solve extremely simple problems, and it doesn't even know how. It
over-simplifies everything, and it tends to think it is in charge."

This is the ego and it has been known by the wise to be the root cause of all
suffering and dysfunction in the world for exactly the reasons that Flemming
mentions, i.e. it has "an extremely inflated idea of its own worth and its
own independent existence... it can only solve extremely simple problems, and it
doesn't even know how. It over-simplifies everything, and it tends to think it
is in charge." This means that when the ego reigns supreme our understanding
is distorted, our agendas are out of alignment with reality and our actions
create disturbance in the wider holistic context.

Preview of a new e-book soon to be
released.

It's a system theoretic analysis of the ego and its role in the
cult of authoritarianism, which leads to tyranny. The analysis isn't
an intellectual exploration, instead it seeks to encourage a deep
understanding of the nature of events in our lives and in the world
and to spark up a discourse amongst progressive communities that can
lead to practical and effective strategies to resolve the growing
crisis in civilisation and to navigate the transition to a new and
more sustainable civilisation.

The Gaian-Ego HypothesisorSystems
Analysis of Organisation,Ego, Control and Authoritarianism

"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of
evil to one who is striking at the root."(Henry
David Thoreau)

"The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity"
[FR].
"Truth, in its complexity, cannot be advanced if the discourse
of intellectuals conforms to a self-reproducing closed loop of hidden
assumptions." [FR]
The purpose of this analysis is to step out of the loop of subtle
dogma and to expand the scope of potential discourse so that we may
better comprehend the complexity by discerning its underlying
pattern, thereby we may see through our errors and not merely repeat
them. This overall analysis is humbly offered to help fuel a communal
discussion that can bringing together the knowledge and expertise of
progressive minds into a coherent and effective discourse that can
peacefully resolve the crisis in civilisation.

The Situation

Most human expressions, activities and inventions first arise as
thoughts and are shared via communication, therefore civilisation can
be described as the outward manifestation of a communal understanding
or a resonance of minds or a memeplex [FR].
The breakdown of communal understanding lies at the heart of the
breakdown of this civilisation. The work of rebuilding communal
understanding must ultimately be the foundation of any effective
attempt to resolve the crisis. The cause of the breakdown is complex
but ultimately stems from the corruption of public discourse by
manipulative agendas and the remedy is for humanity to reclaim that
discourse and clarify the confusions thus creating a space for
rebuilding a communal understanding. "Speech is civilization
itself.... it is silence which isolates." [FR]
From this, greater awareness will arise and collectively we will know
how to act to resolve the crisis and put civilisation on a firm and
realistic foundation.

Whilst ever the dominant discourse is corrupt the voice of reason
is just noise in the background that cannot meaningfully penetrate
the discourse and bring sanity into the overall situation. There is
already a vast body of knowledge that provides detailed evidence and
deep analysis of the many problems but these have been accumulating
for decades, even centuries, and have had minimal overall impact.
Whilst these analyses are vital in the long term, at present they are
largely impotent because the dominant discourse cannot entertain the
simple logic and has no desire to act on it even when it can.
Furthermore analysing and exposing issues one at a time is a
reactionary strategy that creates an information overload that people
cannot properly digest because there is no coherent paradigm within
which to make sense of it all. What is required is a subtler strategy
that can eventually penetrate then wall of denial.

There are rapidly growing numbers of open minds and we have the
potential to form a diverse and integrated community that can create
a parallel discourse that weakens the corrupt discourse and shifts
the balance of power. But we need a way to manage the information
overload and integrate it into a coherent and compelling communal
understanding that forms the seed of a more humane and more
sustainable civilisation. More >